Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
e-Research and the Data
Librarian
Stuart Macdonald
Edinburgh University Data Library /
EDINA National Data Centre
Luis Martinez
London School of Economics
Data Library
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh, June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
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What are data?
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Where do you get it from?
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Data support services
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Developments in data storage, dissemination and analysis
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e-Research definition and examples
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DISC-UK DataShare
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
What are Data?
Some definitions:
a collection of observations or other information related to a particular question,
problem, experiment or place
information, most commonly in the form of a series of binary digits, stored on a
physical storage medium for manipulation by a computer program
information in numerical form that can be digitally transmitted or processed
a representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner suitable for
communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or by automated means
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Data Types
Social Sciences - micro data; aggregated data; geospatial data; financial
data; qualitative data; in addition to commercial or private data (bank
transactions, Tesco customer purchase records, government
administrative records, CCTV footage)
‘Hard Science’ : astronomical and meteorological observations; climate
modelling; crystallography; gene sequence data; clinical and
epidemiological records; mass spectrometry; satellite or archaeological
images and aerial photography; polar orbit tracking data; chemical,
structural and mechanical engineering data; remote sensing,………
Associated concerns:
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ethics (confidentiality/disclosure),
scale (time/storage),
proprietary formats,
copyright and legal issues,
long-term preservation
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
‘increase the democratisation of knowledge’
More data will be created in the next five years than has been collected in the
whole of human history. Properly managed, this data will form major resource
for Australian researchers.
*Department of Education, Science and Training (2007) "Backing Australia's Ability - An Ongoing Commitment" – url:
http://backingaus.innovation.gov.au/info_booklet/on_commit.htm
Researchers, government institutions, non-profit organizations, schools,
commercial organizations, and individual citizens all need the widest possible
access to data from all sources to explore, experiment, test, create new
knowledge and new products, and, ultimately, to increase understanding
of our world.
*Harlan Onsrud and James Campbell, Department of Spatial Information Science and Engineering, University of
Maine [2006] – “Big Opportunities in Access to ‘Small Science’ Data”
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Research Council-funded Data Centres
• EDINA, MIMAS (JISC/ESRC)
• UK Data Archive, ESDS (JISC/ESRC)
• Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHRC/JISC)
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NGDC - National Geoscience Data Centre (NERC)
BADC - British Atmospheric Data Centre (NERC)
AEDC - Antarctic Environmental Data Centre (NERC)
NEODC - NERC Earth Observation Data Centre (NERC)
BODC - British Oceanographic Data Centre (NERC)
NEBC - NERC Environmental Bioinformatics Centre (NERC)
• UK Cluster Data Centre (Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council)
• UK Stem Cell Bank (MRC)
• UK DNA Banking Network (MRC)
• Brain Tissue Bank (MRC)
• UKIDC - UK Infrared Space Observatory Data Centre (STFC)
• UKSSDC - UK Solar System Data Centre (STFC)
• Chemical Database Service (STFC)
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Other Sources
National Statistical Agencies:
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Office of National Statistics (ONS) - http://www.statistics.gov.uk/
General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) - http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) - http://www.nisra.gov.uk/
Statistics for Wales - http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/
Eurostat - http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/
Free Resources:
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Non-Governmental Organisations
Government websites (national/local)
Independent Research Organisations
Charitable Organisations
Media Organisations
Data Discovery Tools:
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Intute: http://www.intute.ac.uk/
Go-Geo! - http://www.gogeo.ac.uk/
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Data Support Services
Institutions provide support for data services in different
ways:
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Data Libraries
University Libraries
Computing Centres
Research Offices
Academic Departments
Data Libraries go beyond local support of national data
centres & statistical agencies:
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Act as a ‘repository’ of data
Reference service
Train users to access and handle data resources
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
UK Data Libraries
•Edinburgh University Data Library - first such service in the UK, 1983
•Oxford University Data Library –1988
•London School of Economics Data Library –1997
•RLab Data Service –1999, providing support to LSE’s research laboratory
Other institutions with ‘Social Statistics’ libraries:
•University of Southampton
•Strathclyde University
DISC-UK (Data Information Specialist Committee – UK)
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Foster understanding between data users and providers
Raise awareness of the value of data support in Universities
Share information and resources among local data support staff
URL:http://www.disc-uk.org/
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Web 2.0 – lateral thinking in a linear world?
Blogs and wikis – Wordpress, blogger
Social Bookmarking – del.icio.us
Media-sharing services – YouTube, Flickr, Scridb
Social networking systems – MySpace, Elgg
Collaborative editing tools – Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Gliffy
Syndication technologies – RSS
Mashups:
Numeric Data:
Swivel - http://swivel.com/
Many Eyes - http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/home
Data360 - http://www.data360.co.uk/
Spatial Data :
BackOfMyHand – http://www.backofmyhand.com
Map Builder – http://www.mapbuilder.net,
Maptrot – http://www.maptrot.com,
Click2Map – http://www.click2map.com,
Blockrocker – http://www.blockrocker.com
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Institutional Repositories
UK Repository Projects:
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StORe – Source-to-Output Repositories
GRADE - Geospatial Repository for Academic Deposit and Extraction
R4L – Repository for the Laboratory
SPECTRa – Submission, Preserv’n & Exposure of Chemistry Teaching & Research data
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CLADDIER – Citation, Location And Deposition in Discipline & Institutional Repositories
Issues for further development:
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Interoperability - Dublin Core, OAI versus domain-specific XML schemas
Embedding - repository seen as part of the organisational workflow
Redefining repository - as a suite of methodological and technological processes that
facilitate the research lifecycle
Web 2.0 tools for collaboration - across and within department / institution / discipline
Clarity on data citation & persistent identifiers
Data rights - open access v restricted access v user-defined access
Domain-Specific Repositories:
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ArXiv.org – physics, maths, computer science
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Blue Obelisk Data Repository – chemoinformatics
PubMedCentral – biomedical and lifesciences
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
• eScience, e-Social Science, e-Research and
cyberinfrastructure
• “E-Research extends e-Science’s remit to all sciences
referring to the use of distributed resources across
multiple domains to do science or further research
with the following key features: collaborative,
multidisciplinary, use of GRID technologies and vast
amounts of data” (CURL Workshop, 2005)
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Examples
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GRIDPP
• Large Hadron Collider
• GRID Prototype to analyze data
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AstroGRID
• UK contribution to Virtual
Observatory
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Examples
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CQeSS
• Develop and support quantitative
E-Social Science
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MiMeG
• Tools and techniques to analyse
audio-visual qualitative data
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Seamless Access to Multiple
Datasets (SAMD)
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MIMAS as major contributor
ESRC and DTI funded
Solving a problem of the UK academic Social Science
community
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
DISC-UK DATASHARE PROJECT
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JISC Repository and Preservation Programme
March 2007 to March 2009
DISC-UK members
• EDINA (lead)
• University of Edinburgh
• London School of Economics
• University of Oxford
• University of Southampton
Purpose
“provide exemplars for a range of approaches and policies in which
to embed the deposit and stewardship of datasets in institutional
repositories”
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
DATASHARE Motivation
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Growing presence of IRs
SToRe Social Science Report
• 70% of survey respondents producing quantitative
questionnaire data
• Vast majority of researchers not depositing data
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Deliverables
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Enhancements to partners’ IRs
Exemplars of the process of setting up an institutional
data repository service
Documentation and open source code for adapting
repository software for handling datasets.
Technical watch on e-Research, VREs and Web 2.0
developments.
Papers, presentations and online dissemination of
collected knowledge.
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Issues
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Management: storage, curation, policies
Legal: access rights, confidentiality and creating public
use files
Technical: standards to describe, transport and
communicate
Cultural and political: do people want to share data?
Central vs. distributed. Self-archiving vs. assisted
deposited
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007
Support for e-Research: Filling the Library Skills Gap
Thank you
E-Science Institute, University
of Edinburgh – June 2007